50,000 grab free Unreal SDK in one week

Over 50,000 users have downloaded Epic Games' free Unreal Development Kit in its first week.

The free SDK allows access to the Unreal Engine 3, and is available to anyone interested in 3D game technology, from developers to students, with Epic allowing anyone to release games using the UDK.

"We are very excited to see the uptake of UDK cross over the 50,000 mark in only one week, and we’re looking forward to seeing amazing games and applications come out of it," offered Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games.

"We’re also thrilled to finally be able to offer UDK free for schools and students so they can work with the same awesome Unreal Engine 3 tools used by many of the top game developers and publishers around the world."

Training firm 3D Buzz is also set to release free video tutorials specific to the UDK, with over 100 Unreal Technology videos already available on the 3D Buzz website.